


Back Together

by Ghost0



Series: The Brave & The Bold (A DCEU WonderBat Story) [2]
Category: DC Extended Universe, DCU (Comics)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-14 08:55:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29664846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ghost0/pseuds/Ghost0
Summary: Diana is back in Gotham and meets up with Bruce. But it is during this reunion that helps Bruce realize the danger that has ben hiding in Gotham. Even though he is ready to take this on alone, Diana pushes him to open up regarding the darkest chapter from his past.
Series: The Brave & The Bold (A DCEU WonderBat Story) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2179917
Kudos: 2





	Back Together

“I’ll call the contractor tomorrow.” Bruce stood in front of a mirror as he put on his black bowtie. 

“I will make the arrangements if you prefer Master Bruce.” Alfred said. While he wanted to say something more direct, Bruce could still pick up on the undertone within Alfred’s words. He has been borderline pestering him to push the repairs needed for the Manor for the last few weeks. 

He turned around as he grabbed his suit jacket and looked over at his butler. “Is there a reason you are insistent on getting these repairs completed so soon?”

“I just don’t think you realize how much work goes into a project like this sir.” Alfred looked right back at him. “The exterior of the Manor was the easy part. There is a lot of damage within the Manor that needs immediate attention that will require time to fix. If you are to move back in there, Master Bruce, it is rather important that you give this the attention it deserves.”

“I think I have an idea of how much time and effort is required for projects like this. The cave and everything in it didn’t spring up overnight.” Bruce exhaled and rubbed his neck. “Apologies Alfred.”

The butler relaxed his posture ever so slightly. He read the frustration that was painted all over his face. The look of going over something over and over, trying to solve a mental puzzle that refuses to give in. “I have been a little aggressive. But my offer to take over this little project for you still stands, if that will help you direct your focus somewhere else.” Bruce nodded. “Well then, I suppose it is time we depart for the mayor’s gala.” Alfred lead the way through the lake house and opened the door for Bruce. They approached the car, with Alfred sitting up front and pulling away from the house. As they drove along the road, Bruce turned his head towards the window and looked out. He could see Wayne Manor. If it wasn’t for the fact he knew what it looked like inside, he would have thought that the structure was just as it was decades ago. He allowed himself to get lost in his memories. The good ones he had back when he was a young child. To look back on those memories, the ones from back before the night in the alley, were always bittersweet. All though, the emphasis in this moment seemed to be on the former part of that sensation. Alfred’s eyes looked up at the rearview mirror and noticed the subtle look in Bruce’s eyes as they drove forward, the Manor slowly drifting out of sight.

Once it was gone, Bruce took out of his phone and made himself address some of the emails regarding Wayne Enterprises that he couldn’t put off any longer. He still picked up on the surrounding changes outside the car. Noticing that more cars were popping up, knowing that their destination was approaching. After finishing up his last response, he looked through the various invitations to events and parties he had received over the past month. Most he ended up avoiding. But he did bring up the invitation to tonight’s gala, which is when he picked up on a detail he must have skipped previously. “Alfred, why did you follow up yesterday to inform them that I will be bringing a plus one?”

“Apologies sir. I meant to inform you about a call that came in last night. But if I’m being honest with you, I thought it would be easier for you to agree to this if it was sprung upon you.”

“Alfred, which one of my exes did you…?” Bruce looked out the window and noticed someone familiar. Granted, most of the people attending tonight were people he was familiar with in some capacity. But it was the dress this person was wearing that got his attention first. It was a dress that he had seen once before, and that same person was once again in the crowd leading up towards the doors of the mayor’s large home. The white dressed had a light sparkle, the top of the outfit connected to a band that went around the woman’s nack and back and connected itself to the one arm sleeve. Diana wore it as well right now as she did several years ago. The car stopped near the steps leading up to the home. Bruce pushed open the door and buttoned up his jacket before moving forward. Alfred remained in the car, watching Bruce get closer. Diana turned to look towards Bruce. Her hair was down, dark red lipstick on her lips. Her smile was different somehow. Perhaps the difference was that, last time she was in that dress, her smile belonged to a person who was intrigued yet cautious about someone like Bruce trying to ask her questions. But now, it belonged to a person that had fought alongside him, someone that he didn’t mind lowering a few of his guards for.

“Diana.” They reached out to hold each other’s hands. Leaning forward, they both kissed each other on the cheek. As he pulled back, she could see the curious and wondering look in his eyes. “I wasn’t expecting you to be here. Mainly because I didn’t even know you were in Gotham.”

“I hope that doesn’t mean you don’t want me here.” She told him.

He shook his head and allowed a small grin. “I find myself often bored at these kinds of events. It would be more bearable to go with someone like you.” Diana nodded in understanding, allowing Bruce to be the first one to walk up the stairs and into the mansion. She was close behind, catching up to be at his side as they walked into the building. Waiters walked around, serving cocktails and appetizers to all the guests. 

“Mister Wayne, what an honor to have you here.” Bruce stopped and turned to see Gotham’s mayor approach him. Smiling, he reached out and shook his hand. “To be honest, I was fully expecting you to decline.”

“I have to check in on my investments every once in a while.” The two of them laughed a bit. He turned his head towards Diana, his hand pointed towards the mayor. “Meet Mayor Snyder. I made a small donation to his campaign a couple of years ago when he first ran for office.”

“Small donation isn’t how I would put it. You practically made up half of my funds.” He gave a large smile and looked at the woman by Bruce’s side. “But of course, it is far easier to get him to give money away than it is to get him out of the house. But every once in a while, he does find…someone that can get him to leave the house.” Snyder gave a quick wink to Bruce.

“I can’t speak on that, but that doesn’t surprise me.” Diana smiled, putting her hand on Bruce’s arm. “Seeing that he knew where to find me, I better make sure he doesn’t have me being stalked.”

Snyder chuckled a bit. “Don’t let me give you the wrong idea. He may be a bit of a loner, but he is quite the gentleman. But don’t let me intrude on your time together. Have to go mingle with some of the other guests.” Snyder left them, Bruce reaching out to grab a couple of drinks off a tray that passed by. They walked deeper into the crowd into the approached the back door that opened out to a balcony. The two of them stepped out and looked out towards the forest just a little bit away from them.

Bruce turned as he took a sip of his drink. “What brings you back this time?”

“You almost sound as if you don’t want me here.” Diana remarked.

“Of course not. But between what happened to Superman when we were all together here and when you came to help prepare for the invasion, it does seem like you only want to come here when you have to. Not that I would blame you for that. Gotham has a dark reputation.”  
Diana placed her drink down and shook her head. “I hold nothing against the city. And I make no generalizations about the people. The simple truth is that I never had much of a reason to come here outside of those times.” Her eyes turned back to the forest wrapped in shadows. “But just because something appears to be dark and intimidating, that doesn’t mean there isn’t beauty to it.” Bruce remained silent as Diana seemed to need a moment to collect her thoughts. Turning back around, she responded to his query with a question of her own. “There was an incident at The Louvre. A painting had been stolen, but not from one of the displays. The one they stole was in the basement, one that according to our system, was once donated by you well over a decade ago.” She watched his face subtly change. Reaching back to search for the time when he made the decision to donate a painting. “I’m here to ask you if you know anyone who might want to obtain whatever piece that was.”

She watched him reach his hands out to grab onto the railing of the balcony. Inside his head, it was as if a puzzle piece magically appeared that allowed him to see the whole picture. “The Louvre…corner of France Avenue…” Diana kept her eyes focused on him, confused about what he was trying to put together. Just as she was about to say something to try and get him to respond, his head picked up and turned to her. “Do you have your gear?”

“Yes. It is in the rental outside.” She answered. 

“Follow my car.” He turned around and walked briskly, Diana taking a brief moment to realize that there was some urgency in this moment. But she easily walked by his side once they got to the other side. Diana got in her car and kept her eyes on Bruce, turning on her car but waiting for him to start going. Then the two of them left the gala, the Amazon following the dark knight as he rushed back home. The roads were clear enough where the speed Bruce’s vehicle was going at remained steady and without interruption. After a while, the cars ended up back at the lake house. As she parked a bit further away from the door, she did notice that someone else appeared to have left their mark. Diana got out of the car and kept her eyes focused on the house door itself. A dagger was planted into the wood, holding a picture in place. But before she could get a good look at the picture, Bruce grabbed it and ripped it away from the stuck blade. She slowly approached him, Alfred by Bruce’s side as he got a close look at what was in the picture. She thought she saw the butler’s face show a sign of deep sadness. But if it did, he worked fast to cover up that facial expression. Bruce handed the picture to Alfred before opening the door and heading inside. While he went out of sight quickly, Diana knew that he had to be going down into his cave.

“Alfred, what danger is Bruce dealing with?” Diana turned to the older man. He didn’t say anything, but he did hand her the picture. There was a time stamp on it, revealing that it was from quite some time ago. In the picture, two people were in focus. There was Bruce himself, noticeably younger. A version of Bruce that actually seemed to be happy. Not the façade that he would use as a mask as he attended galas and parties. But an inner pride that Bruce doesn’t seem to have anymore. But that source of pride could be because the young man he is standing with in the picture was dressed in graduation attire. The young man had brown hair, a smile full of confidence and energy. Bruce had an arm wrapped around him as they stood in the picture. The surrounding indicated that perhaps some paparazzi had surprised them following the actual ceremony meant for the younger man. But even that didn’t really seem to put them in a bad mood according to what she saw.

Her head picked up and looked at Alfred. “Is this…Bruce never mentioned he had a son.”

“Foster son.” Alfred clarified for her. “Master Dick Grayson. Bruce took him in when he was fourteen, following the death of Grayson’s parents.” Alfred had a small nostalgic smile on his face. But it melted away as he stepped forward into the house, with Diana following behind him. “It is not my place to tell you his story. But based on his insistence on getting her quickly, it seems like he might need your assistance.” He led her to the entrance down into the Batcave from the lake house. Diana stepped down and descended down into the cave. She found herself in the part of the cave that she and the others weren’t really allowed to see back when they needed to defend the planet. Once she got off the stairs, she noticed a black cloth that was covering up some sort of glass display. Her curiosity about what was underneath faded away when she looked over at Bruce standing in front of several monitors. Hard at work trying to piece something together. 

“I recently put behind a group of criminals lead by a man named Arthur Brown.” Diana’s eyes looked at one of the screens to see the mugshot of the man he just named. “They were robbing a jewelry store, a month after they broke into a number of homes to steal paintings. Every place they hit, a picture of jewelry was taken and left to be found. I have reason to believe that they were the ones who robbed Gotham National Bank a month prior to that.” On another screen, the still shots from security footage showed masked men inside the lobby of a bank. “But despite them being careful to conceal their identities then, they left a clue to what they would do next during their following crime spree, which lead me to capturing them coming out of a store completely mask less. I’ve been thinking there had to be some reason for this bizarre behavior, but now I think I know why Arthur and his people did- “

“Bruce.” Diana cut him off. He didn’t turn around, kept his eyes focused on the screens. “I get what you are saying. Arthur is working on some kind of long-term plan that involves you.”

Bruce shook his head. “Not Arthur. He’s a part of it, but he isn’t orchestrating all of this. He doesn’t have the resources or strategy to do this by himself. Someone else is giving him orders.”

“Someone who is somehow connected to Dick Grayson.” Bruce straightened up, his hands holding onto the back of the chair in front of the monitors. “Bruce, I’m not asking you to tell me what happened to him. I know how losing someone you love feels. But I want you to know that I will help you with whatever is going on. Just promise me that you will be honest with what you have planned.”

He did turn around. She could tell that deep down, seeing that picture on his door sent a shock throughout his body. One he no doubt was prepared for, but it struck him hard nonetheless. He crossed his arms, looking down at the floor. Not wanting to look right at her, at least not now. “Dick was…I had an idea of what he went through when his parents died. Their deaths were part of a long string of murders I was investigating. At the time, I had felt guilty for not getting to the killer in time. By that point, I knew who it was but I still moved too slow. It actually didn’t take him long to figure out who I was.” He picked his head a bit. “I never planned on having a partner. And for a while, I convinced myself that I was giving him training simply because he might need an outlet for his anger. One night, he snuck out after I went out on patrol and he jumped into a fight I was in. I tried to keep him out but…he convinced me otherwise.” Bruce walked a few feet away from the monitors. His eyes briefly looked over to the glass display covered in the black cloth. She took note that based on his posture and words, Dick fell in combat. She remembered Antiope, fighting on the shore of Themyscira. The feeling of grief that came over her as she saw her fall. 

Diana stepped closer towards Bruce and held her arms. “You still have to tell me how this connects to whatever is going on right now. Without that, I am unable to properly help you.”

Bruce turned his head back to her. He once again had the aura of a lone warrior, one who is always prepared to dive into the battle knowing that he might not make it out. “I can’t ask you to help me. If I did tell you, I don’t think you would want to help me. Not if I tell you the whole story.”

“It is foolish to take on an enemy who will use psychological tactics without having someone with you, helping you keep focus and grounded.” She told him. “Now tell me everything that happened.” Bruce stared back for a tense moment. Then he moved past her towards the black cloth. With one hand, he reached out and pulled it down. Diana gazed upon the former outfit of Dick Grayson, holding a metal bow staff. The suit looked old, despite it being locked within the display for years. There were several parts to the suit with details to show what it must have been like to fight alongside Bruce, even back when it seemed like he was not as dark as he was when Diana first met him. But the part of the suit that spoke the loudest was the message spray painted on it, that gave a clue at how dark the tale that she will hear will get.

******

The door buzzed open, with the guard carrying the tray of food approaching the glass wall that contained the prisoner. “Dinner time, asshole.” A small slow was opened up, the tray being placed inside a box that can be opened from the other side. Just as he was about to turn around and leave, the prisoner spoke up.

“You know what I’m in the mood for? Ice cream cake. Or honestly, any kind will do.” The guard turned around to look at the prisoner. “In a few hours, it will officially be the start of a new day. But it’s a very special day for me. A kind of anniversary if you will. I know it might be cheating to have cake before the actual day, but I really feel like I should ask now.” The prisoner stood up and approached the glass wall. His green hair, which would normally be slicked back, simply hung from his head. Not quite reaching his shoulders, but still of fair length. The color red was smeared around his lips, but his face was as perfectly pale as it always was. The only difference that was noticeable about his face was that there was a burn mark on his forehead, destroying a mark he once had there. Both the mark and burn mark were his doing. “You see; I know he got to you. Which means I know that I should take advantage of you being here and request a last meal.”

The guard tried to keep up a poker face. But he could feel his heart quicken when the Joker talked. “No one got to me. Your imagining things again.”

Joker grinned as he looked at the guard on the other side of the glass wall. “Oh, I apologize. I thought he simply bribed you. But it appears he has a much tighter grip on you. So if he insists you keep up this charade, then by all means. I of all people should respect the theatrics of a master plan.” The guard forced himself to turn away and walk out of the room. Joker smiled as he watched the guard scurry away, another mouse in the cat’s game. He opened the small little door to pull out his food from the box. He walked away from the wall and sat down, eating his food and counting down the hours, soon to be minutes, before his arrival.


End file.
